Update: Murphy toes the center line

The current issue of National Journal ranks members of the House and Senate according to how liberal and how conservative they are, based on how they voted on a series of votes in 2009.

Freshman Scott Murphy lands plumb in the center. His liberal composite score is 49.0; his conservative score is 51.0. By comparison, Rep. Paul Tonko’s liberal score was 83.7 and his conservative score was 16.3. Sens. Gillibrand and Schumer are also more liberal with scores of 84.3 and 83.8, respectively.

Update: As interesting as the data on Murphy is the fact that he wants you to know about it. The Congressman’s office sent out a press release trumpeting Murphy’s position smack dab in the middle of the road as “a testament to his independent voice and voting record.”

If you’re feeling wonky, there’s more here. Full Murphy release after the jump.

Today, the National Journal Magazine released its annual ‘Vote Ratings’ issue and named Congressman Scott Murphy (NY-20) one of the most centrist members of Congress. This is a testament to his independent voice and voting record.

“I pride myself on being an independent voice for the 20th district,” said Rep. Murphy. “We need to do everything we can to turn our economy around and I’m not going to make those decisions based on partisan politics. When I’m considering how to vote on a bill I don’t make that decision based on whether it’s a Democratic idea or a Republican idea, I focus on whether it will be good for the people of Upstate New York.”

In his first year in Congress, Scott Murphy has established himself as a proponent of independence and moderation. In January, the Times Union said that he “has proven to be a careful, conservative Democrat.” And the Daily Gazette said, “Gillibrand’s successor, Murphy, is proving himself as moderate and palatable to 20th District voters as Gillibrand was.”

Congressman Murphy’s stance as a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment and his votes to cut more than $24 billion in spending have stood out as key departures from many of his Democratic colleagues.